Women in the infantry? Apparently so in Australia

The Australian government has approved the lifting of restrictions on employment of women in front line combat positions, and that a maximum 5 year timeframe for implementation has been set. If a woman meets the educational, physical, psychological, and job skills requirements for employment, then they may be able to be employed even in SAS and commando special forces capacities as well as front line employment in Infantry, Armour, Artillery, Engineer and associated combat arms.

I can foresee that some women would have the psychological and athletic capabilties necessary to gain entry to the SAS and would undoubtedly augment the SAS's counter terrorism capabilities.

Substantial cultural changes will be required to accomodate changes in military employment policies, and undoubtedly there will be some friction and resistance, but that's the nature of most organisations with traditions that tend to be tribal.

Having trained both male and female reservist soldiers to become officers, not all female soldiers are cut out for front line combat duty, however, of those that are, many will generally perform their duties at least as competently as the men are likely to.

Substantial cultural changes will be required to accomodate changes in military employment policies, and undoubtedly there will be some friction and resistance, but that's the nature of most organisations with traditions that tend to be tribal.

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You've hit the nail on the head. Thanks for the info Chello.

Lots of years ago, I was backing a trailer a long distance into a particularly tricky tight space and my dad, who was watching from the sidelines, said that the next time he went to war, I could be his driver to which I promptly responded, laughing lwith great amusement, that the next time we went to war, he might be my driver!

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion."Albert Camus________________________________If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day. Alex Nobel

If I have managed to get through the day without wishing bodily harm to another human being, if I have gotten through the day without killing a plant, if I have been able to get at least 2 hours of sleep, if I have been able to hide my fangs behind a smile and rain on my heart behind a laugh, it has been a successful day. my evil twin

Lots of years ago, I was backing a trailer a long distance into a particularly tricky tight space and my dad, who was watching from the sidelines, said that the next time he went to war, I could be his driver to which I promptly responded, laughing lwith great amusement, that the next time we went to war, he might be my driver!<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

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Never argue with a competent well armed woman who wants to ride shotgun!

Rules are for the guidance of the wise, and the blind obedience of fools. - unsourced

To deny your oppressor's, or your own humanity is to descend into barbarism. - V. Chelloveck

Survival is a battle for the mind...mainly one's own. - V. Chelloveck

A beautiful idea founded on faulty reasoning is like a turd wrapped in gold foil, tinsel and glitter. Neither are wholesome if swollowed whole! - V. Chelloveck

What is a religion, but a cult with a larger following and a veneer of respectability. - V.C.

I've known a lot of female Marines I wouldn't mind being in a combat zone with; and I've known a lot of male Marines who shouldn't have been in a combat zone. It's all about what they have inside, not the packaging on the outside.

"The unexamined life is not worth living." - Socrates

“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” - Voltaire

"It's not what you look at that's important; it's what you see." - Thoreau

"I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace." - Paine

"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear." - Jefferson

Because it is life or death Grunts don't cut any slack; so gender doesn't matter.

No offense to anyone. Once, I was a 11B NCO and if you could not cut it, keep up, get it done etc both physically and mentally, you were gone. There isn't any slack, a soldier earns the Crossed Rifles.

Heraclitus:
“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”

I've known a lot of female Marines I wouldn't mind being in a combat zone with; and I've known a lot of male Marines who shouldn't have been in a combat zone. It's all about what they have inside, not the packaging on the outside.

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In today's military, which is more and more a microcosm of our culture, the system has mechanisms designed to remove or re-assign the males from combat units, or any other unit, up to and including removal from active duty, in which their performance is documented as subpar.

The system, in my opinion, is still skewed toward political correctness when it comes to reassigning, or removing, females of documented subpar performance. Lowered physical requirements and do-overs for the female soldier seem to be the expectation by both the high command as well as the new recruit, with the junior officer command and NCOs being caught in the middle.

All this because the goal seems to be a socially-engineered military experience designed to agree with the liberalized permissiveness in our society. Winning traditions are downplayed in the pursuit of "progressive change".

Yeah, there will always be the tough gal who can "hump a ruck" with most guys, but that is the extreme exception, and discerning the difference and doing the correct thing with those that don't hack the program will continue to destroy unit morale, team cohesion and ultimately, combat effectiveness.

Heraclitus:
“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”

Having seen the females in 'action' in both the USAF and the USN, I am NOT impressed. They DO get the easy jobs, the special treatment, the overlooking of weaknesses. Not so dangerous in a non-combat mechanic or electronic billet.......
Still, a lot of guys got screwed when the'ladies' got preferential treatment.
WIth today's insistance on 'PC' and 'equality', I can only guess it has gotten worse, not better.

Please use correct English. Show the world Americans aren't illiterate.
There, their, they're are different words. Use them properly.
Lose and loose have different meanings.
"Im" and "Ill" mean nothing without the apostrophe.
Capitalization and punctuation are your friends.
Text-speak and hashtags get you into the ignore list.
Commas are NOT your friend when used in large herds......

As a former Infantryman, I would be more inclinded to accept women in Combat Arms if they could pass the male PT test.

One thing I will not stand for is the lowering of standards to allow women in Combat Arms. That does no one any service, the woman who could not have made on her own will have it held against her and her fellow soldiers won't trust her keep up or cover their backs.

I have served with women while in the military, and generally I found it underwhelming.

I agree that if a woman wants to be combat arms they should be able to pass the male pt test. I score high enough on my pt test to pass by male standards but there are plenty of women who don't. There are plenty of women and men who can't pass minimum standards. Even though I am in good physical shape I would not want to retrain into combat arms. My guard job is something I enjoy. Not all military females would want to switch to infantry if given a chance. I think if they opened it up to women and let it be known that pt standards would be the men's the women who went for it would be in shape.

The AFPT is not a great example of phycial fittness for the Infantry. It is a good baseline, but Infantry also need to be able to carry all their combat equipment (helmet, bodyarmor, ammo, weapon and the like) in addition to a 40-60lb ruck, crew served equipment (machineguns, tripods, T&Es, radios, CLS bags, mortar rounds, ect.) up mountains, down valleys, though forests, and anywhere else for up to 10 miles and be prepared to fight.

One complaint I've heard from REMFs was that the Infantry's Promotion Points were lower than just about all other MOSs. What they don't realise is that the Infantry probably has the highest turnover rate of jobs in the Army. Not only is it tough, it's a less forgiving job than say Finance or Dentac. If you can't keep up physically, whether due to injury, age, or just your body being worn out (jumping out of airplanes is very bad on the joints after a while), you can't call a time out or move to a less physically demanding job in the Infanty, you have to find another MOS and hope you aren't locked in to Infantry permantly.

The thousand-yard stare or two-thousand-yard stare is a phrase originally coined to describe the limp, unfocused gaze of a battle-weary warrior. The stare/gaze is a characteristic of acute stress reaction, also known as combat stress reaction, which is related to post-traumatic stress disorder.

The despondent stare is a symptom displayed by victims who have succumbed to the shock of trauma by dissociating from it. The phrase originated from military circumstances, but it is a symptom of severe psychological distress that can occur anywhere and is not unique to soldiers or settings of warfare.Thousand-yard stare - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Some times getting what one asks for can be an educational experience.

Heraclitus:
“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”